On this week in... 1942

Woman acquitted

On 18 November 1942, 29-year-old Mabel Gertrude Robson was tried at the Kalgoorlie Court of Sessions for the unlawful assault of 31-year-old Mary Allan. It was alleged that Robson, a married mother of three, had put Allan in the hospital with a compound skull fracture after hitting her on the back of the head with a hammer. It was suggested that Allan had been carrying on with Robson’s husband, who was known to visit Allan and cut wood for her. Allan complained that continued headaches meant she was now unable to scrub floors or do washing. Robson’s defence was that the blow to Allan’s head had been unintentional. She had gone to Allan’s house in search of her husband, upon which Allan violently attacked her. In trying to fend her off, she had accidentally hit her on the back of the head. The jury found her not guilty, perhaps out or reluctance to send a young mother to gaol, or due to disapproval for Allan’s allegedly adulterous behavior.